


Define Redemption

by Starlingdarlings



Series: Webs We Weave [1]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alastor is Bad at Feelings (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor is in Hell for a Reason (Hazbin Hotel), Angst with a Happy Ending, Aromantic Angel Dust, Aromantic Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Dad Friend Alastor, Daddy Issues, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, F/F, Family Secrets, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Original Character(s), Self-Esteem Issues, Slut Shaming, Trans Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Trauma, background Charlie Magne/Vaggie, background Sir Pentious/Arackniss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:27:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24285841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlingdarlings/pseuds/Starlingdarlings
Summary: Angel Dust has been at the hotel for about a few years now, happy with these new friends of his. He never thought he would have cared so much. But now he is more trapped than ever by his contract. When he gets a string of texts from his boss, he thinks it's over. One thing then leads to another, and a long held secret is revealed. Now he can't even be sure who he is anymore, what he's even doing. His history, and numerous other problems he can't seem to chase away are only catching up with him now as he comes to grips with this new reality. Angel can't run away anymore. Luckily, his family has his back, redemption as his end goal or not.
Relationships: Alastor & Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)
Series: Webs We Weave [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753174
Comments: 17
Kudos: 39





	1. Lost Cause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mid afterlife crisis hours.

His day started out normal enough. Got up early, showered, applied fresh makeup, and slipped on some new clothing. It was his usual pinstripe suit just with a long, pleated skirt instead of the shorts. Fat Nuggets just about pounced on him at that point, giving him those cute, beady little eyes just begging for breakfast. So he fed him, scrolling through his social media feed as he listened to his precious pet snort and eat.

Nothing new in particular was happening really. There were the occasional turf wars, posts from a meme page he followed, and a whole lot of animals in between every other miscellaneous post. Angel snorted as he clicked on a video, watching what appeared to be a really blurry video of Pentious getting pushed away on a skateboard while he screamed like a baby. The skateboard then tipped over, knocking the snake down to the ground. He liked it before sharing the link with Cherri. She would definitely get a laugh out of this. She immediately responds with a laughing emote followed by a message explaining she’d recorded it. Course she did.

**Angel Dust:**

_Lol_

He hit send before returning to the feed until he reached where he’d been the other night, taking pictures of his pig. That was basically the only thing he ever posted on this account. 

Nuggets finished eating by this point, and quietly cuddled up next to him.

“You better not climb on me, you know you’re too heavy for that now.” He pats Nugget's head, before removing him. With relative ease, Angel was stronger than he looked, but it was still a little unpleasant to have a heavy pig on top of you. 

The pig whined. He kisses him. “I gotta go, baby. I’ll see you for lunch, k?”

Then he went downstairs. The scent of breakfast- toast, eggs, bacon, and coffee drifted from the dining room kitchen. He yawned as he headed in and took a seat. It looked like Nifty was the one cooking. Or didn’t. He could barely see her lean up to reach the stoves. He chuckled as she hummed the tune to some familiar song. Whatever it was, it was definitely catchy.

He tiredly stares at the wall across from him as she cooked, the sizzling of food only lulling him back into a sense of tiredness. Angel didn’t usually sleep a whole lot, but that didn’t stop him from being cranky when he woke up. He’d always been like that. He was prone to falling right back to sleep if he let himself, too. She doesn’t seem to notice him until she begins setting food on a plate- she nearly dropped a stack of toast jumping back in surprise. 

“Hey! When did you come in? I didn’t hear you come in. Did you sneak in? Did you crawl on the walls like a spider? Can you do that? You are a spider, right?” She spoke fast, almost too fast for Angel to wrap his head around. Half the time she talked like this, and he was only just getting good at deciphering it. 

He steals a piece of toast, talking through a mouthful of it which earns him a frown from the small cyclops gal. “Yeah, I’m a spider.” He swallowed it. The touch of cinnamon she always put in there was always real nice. “But I can only do that with my gloves off.”

She blinked. “Oh. Neat.” 

“Yeah.” He took another bite while she continued to frown at him. No matter how many times she asked, he never used a plate when it came to food like this. That didn’t keep her from trying though, even if she’d long since stopped saying anything. To his face anyways. He knew she gossiped with Husk, probably. That’s what he was pretty sure he overheard once when he was knocked out on the lobby couch after a long night out. Not that he held it against her or anything. Most people talked shit when they thought someone wouldn't know about it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” She beamed. 

Nifty went to tend to the rest of the food, pouring a few different cups of coffee after she got all the food on plates. It was hard not to wonder if she ever took a break, really. Granted, she didn't always do this, it was just that she already did so much work being a maid for the place. It was a whole hotel, and she was the only one doing that work. Just the thought sounded exhausting. Sometimes just being near her was draining, she worked so hard. 

He nabbed another piece of toast as she handed him a cup of coffee. Most of the stuff was creamer, he knew. If the creamer had caffeine in it he'd just drink that, honestly.

Eventually, everyone came trickling down into the room.

First it was Charlie and Vaggie, Charlie practically leaning against her girlfriend as they took a seat. Vaggie kissed her cheek as she got up to grab the both of them breakfast and coffee. They shared a plate, presumably because Vaggie only had two hands and was just as tired. Reminded him of his old roommates, sometimes, so obviously a couple, and attached at the hip at times. Gross, it was just so wholesome. 

Next was Husk. He looked as hungover as he usually did in the morning (but he usually did seem hungover, no matter how handsome he was). He sat down and lay his head on the counter tile, completely ignoring the glass of water by his usual spot. 

Nobody exchanged too many words, just sitting in a sort of companionable silence as they ate until Alastor came down. He was bright and dapper as always, greeting them all with a cheerful good morning. Husk facepalmed and groaned, mumbling something about loud kids, while Vaggie and Charlie just yawned. 

"My, dear, that is a tall cup of joe for a little lady such as yourself!" He addressed Charlie.

She yawned again. "Uh-huh."

"She was up all night doing paperwork.", Vaggie explained. "She wanted to get all of it done." She shoots Charlie a fond if exasperated look. 

"...I see." He then shifts gears to personally talk to Husk as well as he serves himself. Husker grumpily mumbles back, taking a slow sip of his water. 

"Thank you very much, Nifty!" He says before he digs in.

How he managed to always do that was beyond Angel. The man never seemed to have bad days, ever. End of. He always woke up on the right side of the bed as far as Angel could tell. 

As usual, he avoided greeting Angel directly at all. He usually didn't unless there was some sort of reason to. Angel couldn't blame him, what with their first interaction- if he'd have known he had absolutely no interest whatsoever, Angel wouldn't have done it. 

Angel gets up, throat tight. "Welp, heading for work." 

Charlie mumbles what he can only assume are words of encouragement before he practically runs out the door, just slow enough to overhear what Vaggie had to say. Something about quitting. The usual song and dance. Vaggie had brought it up to him a few times before, especially within the past few weeks. 

Right, because he could just quit the job he had with the overlord who had his contract. In the one place that contracts and words mattered the most, right. That job. 

His name was connected to the contract, the one he had in life. There was no memory of it now, memories blurred and turned vague. Some even gone completely, he thought; taken from him when he'd signed it off. All he had been left with were these hazy memories and a nickname. This was what tied him to his boss, and to his work. There was no quitting it, and that was that. 

It wasn't even that Angel didn't like this job. No way! He loved this job to bits! The work hours were flexible, he got to have so much fun just working, and he was even liked for it!! Okay, more than half of his fans were creeps, but numbers didn't lie. He made money doing something he was good at. And the decent fans he did talk to more than made up for any bullshit he had to deal with- 

Okay, maybe the others had a point, and some of his self worth or whatever hinged on this career. Did that really mean he needed to quit the job that made him happy? It'd be ideal if he didn't work for Val at all, but what choice did he have either way? 

He thinks about it the whole way to the studio. 

* * *

When he gets work, he isn't surprised to see Val out front waiting for him. He'd been doing it all week, just waiting out in the front for him. 

"Hey, where've you been all day? We've been missing you here, Angel cake!" He ushered Angel in, stopping short of grabbing him. 

Angel closes in on himself at that, letting Val do that. For so long he hadn't noticed when these sorts of things happened. Now that he did, it bothered him. Really bothered him. Angel forced a smile, about to rattle off his usual excuse. "Oh, you know, Boss. At the hotel. I have to be there in the morning so they know I'm there and not-"

"Home?"

Angel shrunk further, though he tried to smile and appear strong and like he totally didn't want to kick his boss in the shin right now. He had the funniest feeling he looked like a deer in the headlights, which was funny, considering the whole brand new 'fucking grin like a serial murderer and act like everything's fine until you can get away' act had been inspired by Alastor. The only person he couldn't seem to use it on was Big Vee.

"Y-yeah…" He said as he followed him into the recording studio, not the dressing rooms. It seemed like whatever today was going to be, it wasn't going to involve too much acting. Just being naked and touching stuff. What a bummer. 

A few of his coworkers joined them, and they began to record after they went over what they would be doing today. 

Overall, real boring stuff. They filmed a bunch of takes, had cigarette breaks, came back for more takes, and then they were done with it.

For once Val had very little to really say to him before or after. He didn't try and make Angel stay after a little longer for unpaid overtime, get him to relapse again, or anything like that. He was quiet if anything. It was surreal, but Angel wasn't about to complain about it. Any break he got from him was a break he'd take. Even if it was a very sketchy one. 

He headed back to the hotel as soon as he was off work, not bothering to take much of a shower beforehand. He just wanted out.

* * *

Returning to the hotel before general sleep hours was a new one for Angel. For one, he doesn't need to tiptoe in. For two, people actually notice when he comes in. And it's not because they're upset about being woken up at the crack of dawn. 

"You're here early." Vaggie looked up from her phone as he came in. 

"Uh, yeah." He took a seat next to her. Back when they first met she would not have been alright with the intrusion on her personal space. Now she simply scooched a little closer to the leg of the cough on her end to give him leg room before eventually just settling on the leg itself.

He spread his long legs out and slouched back, practically hanging off the couch on the opposite end. The two of them sitting together must have been a sight, he thought. It brought to mind those memes about being gay and not sitting normal. The thought was almost enough to bring his mind off his sore body. Almost. He winced. 

She raises an eyebrow. "You okay? You look a little messed up."

He shifted in place. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, toots."

"It's my job to- are you sure?"

"Huh?" He tried to play it like he didn’t hear her.

"Angel, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he crossed his arms, he can't help but feel a little defensive about it, even as there was an awareness of a growing ache. Of course, this only earns him a hard stare- as he then realizes he’s kicking his leg. He cuts it out, looking the other way. "What?" He finally snapped, throwing his arms up. 

“You're not acting like you're fine." She bites her lip. "It's our job to be concerned, but if you're going to be an asshole about it, whatever. I'll leave you alone." She got up and left. 

Angel fixed his disheveled fur a little, looking down at his feet. She was right, he probably looked like roadkill, which wasn't something he could say often. 

Then Angel realized how badly he fucked up. Vaggie didn't just get up and leave when she was upset, she didn't give up. She stuck around Charlie and this hotel all this time for fuck's sake. She had just been concerned about him. When was the last time she'd personally checked in with him? They never particularly liked each other. She barely tolerated him half the time. Oh, he fucked up big time. He never should have come back so early looking like this.

He fucked up. 

He couldn't have fucked this up worse if he'd had lube. 

Shit, he fucked up.

Half of him has it in him to go knocking on her and Charlie's shared bedroom door and apologizing; it was the least he could do for being such a fucking idiot. The other, considerably larger half knew he fucked up. Knew he was a fuck up. How could Vaggie ever forgive that? He'd already been so horrible to her. Done everything in his power to provoke her since the beginning, and made her suffer through his withdrawals before he relapsed and made everyone in the hotel deal with it again. 

He fucked up. 

This line of reasoning has Angel sitting at the bar barely a minute later, asking for some more booze before he could finish downing his first one. Husk was only giving it to him because Angel threatened to tattle on him for drinking on the job again. Another thing to add to the list of things that made him a horrible friend. 

He swallowed down the next drink, nearly gagging at how bitter it was. The taste was nostalgic in a way that stung. 

Husk watched him, looking about ready to kick Angel out at this point. His ears flattened and he bared his teeth. And Angel could see his tail flicking back and forth out of the corner of his vision. It was so cute. "Do you plan to drink the cabinets dry?"

Angel grinned. "Only if you let me." Husk got annoyed when Angel flirted with him, but he couldn't bring himself to care right at that moment. Anything to just ignore and forget how awful he had just been. Hey, maybe he would finally luck out and get the cat’s attention.

Husk grumbled to himself as he poured himself a drink and Angel another. "Aren't you meant to be the model sinner for this redemption campaign or some shit?"

“Me? Redemption? What’s the point anymore?” He finished his fourth drink, already pouring himself another. “I’ve been at this for almost 80 years, we all know I can’t be redeemed. You would have a better time trying to redeem a fucking rock-”

Husk suddenly interrupted him, poking Angel’s shoulder with one of his sharp claws as he mouthed something at him.

It took Angel a second to understand it.

_Look behind you._

Oh shit. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

Charlie stared at him, face set in a disappointed frown. 

“H-hey, toots.” His voice slurred, and he was more aware of it than he would have liked.

She opens her mouth to say something. 

“I better go get some sleep. It’s been a long, hard day, you know?” He tries not to make it sound like an innuendo, but it just is, so he makes a mad dash out of there.

“Angel!” 

He doesn’t have to look back to know she’s following him. He reaches his room and opens the door, slamming it shut behind him. It makes him flinch, not expecting it to be that loud. He sank to the floor. Fuck. Fucking hell. 

"So… you never believed in it?" 

Angel could practically hear her deflate from the other side of the door. The sigh, sinking further onto the floor as his back pushed against the wall of his room. 

"I don't know what to tell you. Yeah, never really planned on leaving this dump…" Just the dump he'd been trapped in then. With Val.

It was almost funny, he bitterly laughed. He had no idea he needed a permanent out until weeks of therapy with the girl, and yet… She'd been there when he first showed up at her door. High as a kite and about to crash lower than he thought he'd ever gotten up from before. He’d just needed the place to stay, and she was offering it.

"I dunno…. couldn't crush your dreams…" He shook his head though she couldn't see it. As drunk as he was, it was the last thing on his mind. "I couldn't just do that, not when you worked so hard…" Angel swallowed, his throat was dry as all fuck... and scratchy. "Y-you seemed to believe in me and well… I didn't believe you, but I couldn't stand to see you fail either."

"Angel…"

"Making your adorable little face cry would be the worst crime ever."

That earned a giggle from her. " Angel- "

"Hey, 'm not finished! Watching you write that song of yours.. Reminded me of something…" He could picture in his eyes now. A galaxy of little freckles framed by a round face and wide, blue eyes. Mouth upturned in a grin as Molly recounted her day at school to Angel and her plans for asking a boy out. Of course, she was going to need her twin's help. And he was going to give it. 

"Angel… I know you didn't stay here because you believed in me." She finally said. 

He could hear her sniffle and immediately he felt the guilt. It was near overwhelming. The guilt was like being exposed to the light outside after having stayed in too long. Angel could barely even remember what that was like, though. It had been so many years since he'd seen the sun. Maybe it was more akin to burning and singing off fur on the stove on accident, or the feeling of a cigarette butt lit and pressed against your arm on purpose. Was there even a sun up in heaven? And rainbows or whatever?

"Nobody else wanted to be involved in the hotel before you, they thought the idea was bullshit… When I met you, I guess I had just hoped you were different…" She continued, sniffling again. "So, I’m not really shocked, or mad, or... anything really. I just really hoped you might have changed your mind by now, you know? Especially with how you came here." 

Disappointed. That was the unspoken word that hung between them, Angel thought.

"Charlie.." Angel exhaled deeply, trying not to have an outburst on her. She'd already had enough of that from him in the past few months. Angel was sick of yelling. "Can ya please leave it alone?” He never liked to think about those first few days.

"O-oh… Yeah. I'm sorry."

He sighed again. "It's okay toots. I'm sorry too."

"Huh?"

"I said I'm sorry. I never wanted to be rehabilitated. It was unfair to you."

"I… I knew that. I just told you. I knew you were just in for a place to stay and that you felt bad for me, but… Remember what you said to Alastor last week?"

It was his turn to double-take. "What?"

"You know, your two positives and a negative."

Oh right. During their group therapy session. It had been a little thing Charlie and Vaggie had set up in the last year, just a little something to build group trust and encourage… Support and confiding in others or whatever. Nobody ever really did that, but everybody did show up. Even Alastor did, but only because his leg had been pulled. 

There they talked and shared about their weeks and then played a game where they go around in a circle sharing their positives and negatives of the day. Alastor's first negative had been that he'd been forced to attend the session at all. Angel had just been really surprised he hadn't willingly shown up to thrive off the chaos or whatever.

"So, when I said-?" Angel asked, still not quite remembering what she was talking about. 

"When you said you were happy to get the time off work to spend with us. That it made you happy." 

Oh, that. He hadn’t said it quite like that though. Not at first, he didn’t. Really, what he initially said was that he loved aggravating Alastor, but that spending time there and off work was a close second to that. Being at the hotel did make him happy after all of his hard work. Angel could still remember how sore he’d been after that weekend...

"Isn't that also when I tattled on Husk for purring like a little kitten?"

"Aaangel!"

"Hey, what? It's not often you see a full-grown demon purr over a hug. It was a positive."

"What are we even going to do with you?" She sighed in a way that someone could call fond. That was Charlie, fond of all her guests at the hotel. She considered them her friends. Charlie was caring, too caring. It almost hurt to consider for too long. What did hell ever do to deserve her? Cuz it sure as hell never did anything. Not for her it didn’t.

Angel knew she was also leaning against the wall when he heard a soft bump followed by the dragging of her hair against it. 

"Kick me out I guess." Angel doesn't think as he says this, it kinda just comes tumbling out of his mouth.

She gasps. "We would never do that! You are a valued friend here, and you've made so much progress. We could never kick you out just like that!"

"Sooo, then what?"

She seemed to think about it for a second. In the meanwhile, Angel shut his eyes. They were beginning to hurt. 

"I have an idea!" He could hear the joy come back into her voice like it was nothing. 

He cracked an eye open. "Oh? I'm all ears."

"What? You don't have ears though.” 

Angel chuckled at the bewilderment in her voice before groaning as his head pulsed in pain. Shit, it _was_ an oncoming headache.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, toots.” He forces himself to get up from the floor, stumbling onto the bed in front of him and rolling onto his back, bottom set of his arms splayed out while the other cradles his head. Damn this hurt. 

“You sure?” She sounded concerned.

Damnit Angel was getting tired of the concern. He kept getting concerned about others getting concerned which made the others more concerned and then things piled up. It only got worse and worse until the next therapy session. Or at least for him, it did. 

Ugh, Charlie needed to get a hobby better than running a place and worrying about people. Did he tell her she should take a break yet? Would it ruin his reputation if he did? Who was he kidding? His reputation was as dead as he was.

“Angel?” She gently knocks on the door, almost as though she were afraid it might knock back. She sounds really concerned now like she’d just watched Husk down an entire bottle of whiskey again.

“Yeah? I’m here, I’m still in here. Come in.” 

She sighed in what Angel could only assume was in relief. Oh c’mon! It’d been at least a month since he’d snuck out, and that was just to hang out with Cherri who actually did want to just hang out that time. 

“Are you sure? I can bring it up later if you need a moment.”

“Whaaat?” Angel tightly shut his eyes. “And leave me waiting high and dry waiting to hear it?”

“Yeah… you have a point. I’m coming in then.” He hears her take a deep, nervous breath as she turns the door handle. 

“You know you don’t have to warn me right after you’ve just seen me, right? You know I’m decent.”

“Oh… oh yeah, um. I’m sorry.” She opens the door and comes in. The door closed with a gentle click.

Angel blinked harshly, fighting back the headache as he looked up at her. “Hey.” His head pounded. This was way too early to be having a hangover, he only had that drink a half-hour ago. Before he tripped and fell and drank ten more. 

“Hey, you okay?” Her voice is gentle as she takes a seat next to him on his bed. It reminds him of his mother almost, and he can’t help but wonder if Charlie had learned it from her's. 

He smiles. “Just peachy.”

Her smile instantly drops like a sack of rocks. Just doing that should be illegal.

“Oh, ow, don’ give me that look!” He coughs. Damnit, maybe he should have grabbed himself a glass of water before he decided he’d hole himself in here.

Charlie looks ready to worry some more. Instead, she sighs again, getting right up. “I’ll be right back.” She leaves the room, quietly closing the door behind her after surprising him and shutting off the light. Angel barely even notices her leaving as he turns his head and stares down into a pillow. The headache eases a bit.

He is almost asleep by the time she’s back. He doesn’t hear the door open but does hear her whispering to him in a way he can’t make out at first. “We can talk about all that stuff tomorrow…” He misses something else. “Night.” He feels her pull a blanket over him. 

“Charlie?” His voice was muffled, but he could still hear her pause at it.

“Yeah?” She whispers back.

“Can you tell Vags I’m sorry?”

“She’ll be here tomorrow if you need to talk to her. Goodnight.”

She leaves, closing the door again with a gentle click. He groans, mind still in a haze.

Eventually, he drifts off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed that I deleted this fic  
> I did this for a few reasons, but the main one really was because I didn't think I was executing my fic right. If you still liked the fic in it's original form and don't mind how different it will be from what I will be posting now (or spoilers), drop a comment and I'll see about giving you the pdf of the original fic. 
> 
> Sorry for any inconvenience this causes. I will be posting weekly again by the by.


	2. Enter a Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So. Angel Dust's family, huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited to update and am doing so a little early. Apologies in advance for the amount of angst here as well as the oc with a pun for an alias. 
> 
> Trigger warnings for the following:
> 
> Implications and references to past torture  
> References to blood  
> Gunshot wounds  
> References to sex  
> Toxic father/son dynamics  
> Referenced child abuse  
> Reference of a character being kicked out as well as  
> Homelessness  
> And attempted murder of a family member

"Where's the money, Bonnibel? You said you would have it to my guys by last week, and before that it was last month, so now I have to ask.. Where is it? Why did you run? How come I had to come all the way out here to ask? Don't tell me you don't have it." A gruff voice echoed through the cold, steel space. Flickering lights illuminating the face of the spider demon. All eight of his eyes were narrowed. Henroin was a busy man, and he was none too pleased to be here in the outskirts of town having to take care of this business. 

The end of a gun was held to the shaking rabbit demon's head. She had long since quit crying, her eyes shimmering in old, dry tears that washed away the spatters of dry blood over her face. "I told you. My boss took the money, didn't want me savin' it up. I can earn it all back, promise." She shuddered, looking down as she stood limp.

Her boss was Valentino. The tycoon of the porn industry and overlord who had amassed territory and notoriety long before Henroin had died. Word on the street about the girl was that she was one of the bigger names associated with the overlord, along with Angel Dust... It was why he didn't put an angel's bullet in her skull now, as much as Henroin would have liked to, it would garner too much attention. The man who made the mistake of befriending and selling to her was ended instead, and that would have to be enough. She would keep quiet, lest her boss know she went behind his back. Bonnibel Jackson had gotten herself in too deep, that was for sure, and now Henroin had to deal with her, keep her alive or risk getting the overlord's attention. 

As much as it hurt his pride (the very sin he was in hell for), he knew his little gang had nothing on the overlord. This girl had completely risked his entire operation being where she was, when she was. His men eyed him wearily as he leered at the girl. Henroin found no joy in making a lady cry, but he would do what he had to. It was why he had shot her earlier at all. One of his men had been a touch rough with her, and she had become difficult to deal with since. Loud, panicked, and often unable to cooperate because of it. That was saying the least of it, by the time he himself had gotten to her, the poor thing was a tortured mess. That man had left hell as well. 

He is getting ready to cock the gun again, maybe give someone else a taste of the bullets, consider it an incentive to do their damned jobs, but is stopped at the squealing warehouse door behind him being pulled open. 

His son was a disheveled mess. His fur mussed, and his hat askew. He looked out of breath as he corrected it's position on his head and adjusted his tie. Henroin could only roll his eyes. He'd been coming in like this all month, and he thought there might be some girl he was seeing, but he never dared asked. Some things between them were just beyond repair at this point, and that was one of those things. 

He put down the gun. "I told you to get here over an hour ago."

The rabbit hiccuped and sniffled again, wiping at her face. "Hey, Arackniss."

"What did she do this time?" Arackniss groaned before his face screwed up in disgust as he got a whiff of the place, and then lay his eyes on Bonnibel. "And why is she covered in- pops… did you shoot her again?" Arackniss recoiled. 

No one dared open their mouths as Henroin nodded. "She owes us money, you know that."

He walks up beside his father and the rabbit. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm just sick of this place smelling like her brains. How long have you had her here, a night?" 

"She answered the phone when she needed to, told that old hack she was with her…" Henroin trailed off, not quite sure how he wanted to put it. 

"My g-girlfriend." Lottie had no idea where she was, she had never involved her and now she could be in danger if these people found her… "Arackniss, I am so sorry. I'm sure there has to be some way I can repay you…"

Arackniss sighs. "We could have her steal us some weapons again."

Bonnibel nods. "I can be in and out anywhere, no problem… No problem. J-just tell me what you want me to do."

It was true, she was quite the thief. Had stolen from many places, and certainly from the places they would ask her to. Rumor had it that this had been her occupation before she had ever met Valentino, and it was not difficult to believe. Some said she had a reputation among some circles, even. That she stole from the best for the best, once. If circumstances were different, Henroin could see her becoming an associate to their family. It was too bad, really. 

"Is there anything we need?" Henroin looked to Arackniss, who seems to mull it over for a moment. 

"We may be running low on bullets after that last… attempt at territorial take over by Sir Pentious."

Sir Pentious. He had been the bane of their family's existence since day one. Henroin had just gotten into contact with former members, associates, and all. They were about to make their first move on the city when this snake's ship came into view, blocking out the sky. Then there was the mechanical click, and within minutes the west side of the pentagram was aflame. The sky had been coated in a thick haze of smoke, and hailing ash for days before it had cleared up, and by then their plans had already fallen apart. Of course, Sir Pentious himself had gained none of this territory, incompetent, crazed, and purely destructive inventor he was with equally as incompetent minions by his side. Neither had they. And over the years, the pure destruction kept following them. He was a pain in the ass and an idiot. But try as they might, they couldn't seem to shake him.

"I know where I can get that," Bonnibel speaks up, louder than before. Almost as if she were worried they might not hear her. 

"So?" Arackniss shoots Henroin a questioning look, who nods to him. "Alright, then. C'mon, you look like you could use a shower. No offense but you completely reek." He settles a hand on her shoulder, earning him a hard flinch- so he pulls his hand away. 

The rabbit sniffles."Thanks."

"No problem." Arackniss leads her out of the warehouse, gentle in handling her as he slipped his coat and hat over her shivering form. It was with the kind of warmth Henroin never could have taught him.

Thankfully, for all the horrible things hell brought to him, it also brought a good chance that he would never have to think of his softhearted son picking up where he left off. 

* * *

They took Arakniss’s bike. It was old and worn but lovingly cared for over all the years. He hands her his hat, which Bonnie puts on over her bloodied fur. She is silent as she climbs on, Arackniss climbing on in front of her. He was too short for it to work otherwise.

Arackniss takes her to his apartment first. The place was modest, clean. Very nice for a one-room, if sparsely decorated. Most importantly, it had a working shower. He doesn't need to remind Bonnie where the towels are as she thanked him again, sniffling, and handing him his hat back, she entered the small bathroom. 

Arackniss sighs as he hears the door sliding behind her, pulling out his phone. Taking a seat at his little side table in his living room; both phone and hat go on the table. 

The window beside it overlooked the busy street outside. It was why he normally kept the curtains closed. Now though, he pulled it back, peering out onto the street. Oh, the butcher's shop across him was in the process of getting robbed. The thieves go undisguised as they kick open the front window and make off with their various cuts of meat. What exactly did they have planned with all of that? Any crime that could be pulled off today, would be. Everything from loitering to robbing a candy store. Youngsters these days. He was going to have to go somewhere else later in any case. Meat was not cheap. He sighed, just watching the situation continue to unfold as the butcher ran out armed with his large knife. 

Procrastinating was what he did when he wanted to avoid something unpleasant. Now though, he should really check his phone. 

The gentle glow of his phone illuminates the table in blue, before turning to a black and white picture of himself locking hands with the hissing man behind him. He has to stifle a laugh looking at it, remembering that day so vividly. This was the phone he kept off when it came to family business. For obvious reasons. At the time, he and Pentious had just been allies and reluctant friends, but this particular memory always made it hard not to smile. Pentious had wanted to take a photo, something about commemorating their official allyship. Whatever it was, he dragged Arackniss in front of the camera for it, and for that Arackniss couldn't not ruin it. Fancy picture taking was never something Arackniss enjoyed, but he treasured this photo. He really fell hard for the man, and fast. 

There were a few notifications. All from Pentious and his minions; he and a few of his minions were the only ones who had the number. 

It's only out of wanting to procrastinate a little longer, that he clicks on one of the notifications. From egg boi #69, one of the only trustworthy eggs. As expected, it's a captioned image, some sort of joke Arackniss didn't understand. The other few messages are similar. All nonsensical to him. But he shoots them each a short reply anyways. Ignoring the little egg minions would have been easy years ago, but they had all grown on him. As much as he didn't like to admit it, he had a soft spot for them. 

The final notification doesn't go away as he stares at it. With a groan, he taps it, and his chatlog with Pentious comes up. The icon was of a far nicer picture. A painting Pentious had commissioned years ago, when he had still been one of the more relevant figures in hell. This was set as the icon because seeing it had been the first time he had really noticed just how handsome the snake overlord was. 

**Sir Pentious:**

_My dear, are you alright? You were in quite the rush after our activities._

_Call me when you have the moment._

Arackniss feels his face heating up again, thinking about what they had been doing before Arackniss had checked his burner phone to find those missed calls from his father. Thinking about how Pentious still had an arm around his waist, as his chest lay flush against his back, and a tongue flickering over his neck. All as if he were about to drag him back into bed and have more of a taste. If anyone else had tried calling him, he might have considered letting him. But not when his father did. 

With his father, it had always been like this. Arackniss actively betrayed him every time he met with Pentious, but to do it so directly was never something he could do, even for him. 

So instead he had quickly picked up his clothes and put them back on. It had been a point of argument between the two of them for years. An argument that had them splitting apart a few times. But as he rushed to get out the door, Pentious said nothing, only eyeing him with that blissed-out smile. He slithered up to Arackniss just as he was about to leave, seeing him out of his bedroom with a soft kiss and a decidedly less soft squeeze of his ass. 

Still, Arackniss had been worried since. That Pentious might hold it against him. Evidently, he didn't. 

He smiled, sending a quick message back before calling. Ring...Ring…… Ring…… And then he picked up. 

"Hello~ How do you find yourself this… Afternoon?" There is some sort of interference, Pentious's voice breaking up in places. Where was he, underground? knowing Pentious, this wasn't too hard to imagine. 

Arackniss sighed again. "Bonnie is here."

"I ssseee. And how is she, my dear heart?"

Arackniss frowned. "What is with that?"

"With what?" There is a tone of amusement, and even through the static Arackniss swore he could hear a raspy giggle. 

Arackniss rolled his eyes at his partner's antics. "The names, _sweetheart_."

"Oh, I will show you. In due time." There is a softness to his voice, nothing to do with the signal. No, it just sounded like he was about to go and recite poetry to him again like the romantic he was. Obnoxiously endearing _and_ an ass. 

"Oh, really?" Arackniss raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see it. "Sounds to me like you're trying to butter me up for somethin'."

Pentious hums. "Maybe I am."

"Then cut it out. You know I hate surprises."

There is a pause. All he can hear is the vague sound of Pentious dragging himself along some surface, and it's faint echo. "I have a feeling you will rather enjoy thissss one."

"If you say so…" There is a knot in his stomach as he says this. A surprise meant not knowing, and not knowing always made Arackniss anxious. It reminded him of nights spent with his father as a child. Of being told to sit and wait for him, or to meet him in his office. Arackniss wouldn't know what it would be about, what his father might want from him. His father knew this scared him and seemed to go out of his way to take a little longer meeting with his associates, or to load the car out of his son's sight. 

He tries and tells himself that Pentious was not trying to make him feel this way. Anticipation was probably what he had hoped for. Arackniss takes a breath. "I think I'm gonna scrape something up for my guest… might have to cut this short."

"That is all fine by me…" There is some sort of beep on the other end, followed by a click and the sound of suction, "love you."

"Love you, too. Remember to get some rest at a decent time, k?"

"Hmph. I could say the same to you-" 

Arackniss snorted before hanging up. It was hard to worry too much when Pentious was about to start lecturing to him on sleep of all the fucking things to be concerned about in hell. Fire and brimstone, honest to god, _hell_. Pentious had always been the one to worry about these sorts of things. Offering a safe place to sleep for people he considered allies or even friends, remembering what kind of tea they liked… He was thoughtful. It was one of the things that had him falling for him. 

He sets his phone on the table, sauntering into his tiny kitchen. It was just about enough room that he had a place to stand between the store and the fridge. The fridge is near empty, he remembers with a certain disappointment. He helped his mom in the kitchen when he was really young. But by the time he'd turned 8, and his dad started teaching him to shoot, his sisters had replaced him. To this day, he still enjoyed cooking though, having picked it up again since his less than easy separation from his dad. 

His dad had never yelled at him so hard in his life when he had made the decision to leave the home they had secured for themselves. He had seen him yell like this at one of his sisters- the one who was now his brother. The brother who he was sure could never forgive him for everything. The same brother who worked with the girl in his shower that he was about to prepare food for. Arackniss laughed. What a turn of events. Who would have ever thought, huh? 

Well, he had seen him about that furious at _Angel Dust._ Seen him hurling things at him, treatment that even his twin was spared from. _And who's fault was that? Who was it that hadn't stopped him?_

His thoughts were way off task. Yes, his father yelled at him about moving into here. And he was a horrible brother. Dinner. For his guest… Who happened to be his little brother's coworker, who's seen him naked... 

Food. That was what was happening at the moment. He opens the fridge, pulling out a few different tupperwares. There wasn't enough in here to make a meal from scratch, so that was off the table. He opens a tupperware. Chicken parmesan. That was something he could throw into the microwave. He plops it into a bowl and does that. Distantly he wonders if his mom might enjoy the innovation or loathe it. 

He hears the bathroom door slide open just as the microwave pings signaling it was done heating the food up. Just looking at it he knew it wouldn't be as good as it had been the first time, but that was true regardless of how it got heated up. 

Shit, the bowl was hot. He about nearly drops the damn thing. 

Bonnie finds him in the kitchen, bloodied clothing that still smelt of copper put back on, though her fur was cleaned and she looked much nicer. "Hey, I can walk home from here. Thank you for helping me…"

Arackniss couldn't help but laugh a little. "Going out alone looking like that? You've got to be kidding me. Here," he hands her the bowl, a paper towel wrapped underneath. "Long day, right? Eat this and I'll take you home." 

She looks ready to refuse him the meal at first, face screwed up as though she were about to get sick all over his kitchen floor. She doesn't get sick, instead, she does take the bowl and offered fork. "You're nice for a mobster." She snorted, taking a seat at the table. 

"Yeah, yeah. Don't go around telling everyone about that, capiche?"

"Gotcha." Finger guns. 

His stomach drops. 

* * *

_The bar was dimly lit, the taste and smell of smoke permeated, and the clinks of glass and hushed speaking could only barely be heard over the girl_ _singing at the stage._ _But that wasn't where his focus was, but instead on the person sitting across from him._

_A pink suit, with a fake flower lapel. From across the booth, he can smell the cheap perfume, nearly overpowered by the nicer cologne,_ _but not quite_ _. He took a sip of his drink. "Niss, I don't have all night. Get to the point."_

 _This was where he had chosen to meet Angel Dust. Once, he had remembered his name, but at some point, this had changed; there were holes in his memory._ _Their father had been unconcerned when he brought it up, to say the least of it. And there was no one else to remember._ _That was why he was meeting him here. It was nothing short some kind of miracle that he was able to reach his brother, nevermind get him to meet him here. Arackniss wanted answers. They had already gotten this far, so he was going to get them._

_He takes in a breath. "You sold your soul, right?"_

_Angel Dust frowned, swirling around the content of his glass before taking another drink. "No idea what you mean by that."_

_"No idea? C'mon. Have some common sense. Swiss cheese memory, your name? How about a boss, get a new boss lately?"_

_Angel Dust looked away. "...yeah."_

_"...You know exactly what I'm talking about."_

_His brother knocked down another drink. "Nope."_

_Arackniss blinked at him, crossing his arms. "Bullshit."_

_Angel Dust chuckled. "Are we playing this game again? Where I go nuh-uh, and you keep going yeah huh, and then dad pulls us out of the kitchen to kick our sorry asses?"_

_"We aren't kids anymore."_

_"Coulda fooled me. Does daddy dearest even know you're here right now?" Angel Dust gave him a shit-eating grin, no doubt in reaction to the tense look Arackniss shot him and his shuffling gaze. "Oh, did daddy's favorite go behind his back to talk to lil ol me?"_

_"...I'm worried about you,_ _damnit. Can't you take these things seriously, just this once?" Saying this was evidently a mistake._

_The sound of shattering glass only registered as he felt for the shards in his hair and on the seat beside him, as well as felt the wet seeping into his clothes and the unpleasant smell of alcohol. Angel Dust had thrown his remaining drink at him._

_Eyes turn to them, and for a moment Arackniss is aware they all have eyes on the two of them, and the room goes quiet until they look away and resume their idle chatter._

_Arackniss takes in another breath, trying not to let it get to him. When they had been children, he might have shouted at him or called him some name or maybe even chucked a drink back at him. And then the whole subject would have been dropped. Now he was an adult, and he was going to act like it. For his brother's sake at least._

_"It's a little late for that, wouldn'tcha think, Nissy?" Those words stung. But that was the point, wasn't it?_

_"...how did you get yourself landed in this situation anyways?" Arackniss asks._

_Angel Dust_ _laughed, bitter and tiredly._ _"Do you really think I came here to talk to you about it?"_

_"Why did you come here, then?"_

_"To throw glass at you and call you a loser." He states matter of factly._

_"You haven't called me a loser yet."_

_"Oh, my bad, loser."_

_Arackniss groaned. "You are such a child sometimes. You never change."_ _That was the opposite of the truth, he thinks as the words leave his mouth, making him sick to the stomach with the realization. Suddenly the drink in front of him looked unappetizing_ _._

_"You betcha," Angel Dust leaned against the booth seat, eyeing a waitress as she walked by as though he were about to beckon her for another drink. Or, he thinks for a silly second, that he might try to use a dorky pickup line on her. Like he used to when they were kids sneaking into places they shouldn't be. He said it was for practice, but Arackniss had a feeling he never had any sort of inclination for girls, even with his boyish personality._

_"...Hey, Angie." He tests the nickname on his tongue, finding that it was alright, if unfulfilling. It just wasn't the right name._

_Angel snapped his head towards him, looking annoyed. "What?" He raised an eyebrow._

_"I should have been there for you..."_ _Arackniss has no idea where he gets the idea to admit this. Years later and he will always regret saying it. Maybe it was the tipsiness, maybe it was something else. One thing was for certain, he never should have brought it up. It was another mistake._

_Angel Dust's face screwed up in fury again as he abruptly got from his seat, knocking over an ashtray. "I think it's a little late for that. After all of these years… I've been down here ten years and was on the streets for about as long and you choose to talk to me now? Tell me you should have stood up for me after dad kicked me out- Do you have any idea what I've been through? He didn't let me off because I'm family. He gave me a head start, Arackniss. He sentenced me to death right in front of you, and twenty years later that's all you have to say to me?"_

_Arackniss doesn't stop him as he walks off with a huff. Only looking up to see Angel Dust pointing a finger gun at him before finally leaving him alone. He didn't have to use a real gun to make his threat clear._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate chapter name: arackniss is threatened by a finger gun 
> 
> To the actual notes, 
> 
> Arackniss, in my interpretation, was hardly free from their father's bullshit. He just coped by being the Best Son. As a result he just really regrets. A lot. He wishes he could have been a better son for his mother and a better brother to his younger siblings. It's a little late for that, though.
> 
> Anyways, hope you peeps enjoy reading about him and my ocs because you will be seeing a lot more of them. And Pentious too.


	3. Remove Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleep in, go do game night, have another crisis, and follow your own good advice. But it doesn't matter because you're in hell. At least you got to pet Husk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw for the following
> 
> Implied vomiting  
> Implied addiction  
> Implied homophobia and transphobia  
> Henroin being an implied lil bitch  
> Angel's humor

The first thing Angel thought when he finally woke up was that his stomach was turning itself inside out. The second thing was that the pounding in his head was loud. So loud. He clung to the toilet seat and wiped his mouth, barely registering he had gotten up, overwhelmed with nausea and pain. Everything from his head to his toes ached in protest as he plopped into the shower and turned on the water, clothing, and all still covering him. His mouth tasted like something buried in the dirt. Like a rotting carcass. Angel turned off the water and peeled off the now soiled suit as well as his boots before coming back into his room. Thankfully the bathroom was attached so no one had to deal with his bullshit right now. They'd learned that lesson the first time he'd taken up a bathroom for more than an hour. Just zoning in and out and heaving. 

He didn’t see the glass of water at his bedside until after he’d plopped back onto the bed, grateful as he took a sip, settling into what was basically a blanket nest as he pulled out his phone and checked it. Turned out it was late afternoon. Angel had missed out on breakfast, work, _and_ on cleaning out and refilling his pet’s food bowl. He looks over, seeing that it was not empty. Still, the thought that he might have neglected his pet was awful. Fucking great. Angel was the _worst_ father ever.

He goes to check his notifications, falling further into his blanket nest. 

There were a few messages from Cherri, all blurry pictures of her rival. One showed him screaming, another showed him getting his ass handed to him by one of Cherri’s other friends. Angel weakly laughed, shooting her a quick text.

He then gets up to fill Nugget's bowl up, clearing out his dirty water dish too. Nuggets slept on his worn bed. He doesn't stir. His baby was always a deep sleeper like that. Angel stood there and cooed at the pig for a moment. When Charlie had gotten him the thing, he had been pretty confused about it. Turned out she had thought that maybe he might do better if he was taking care of a pet after that story of his cat he had- years ago. The girl had been named Stardust; a mean old stray that appreciated the spare food and the roof over her head. She came to and from his place as she pleased. Taking care of her had reminded him to try and take care of himself. Someday she just didn't come back though. He overdosed shortly after. It had surprised him that he'd even shared the story that day. But he did, and Charlie went out and found a living animal that had been brought here to be slaughtered and turned to bacon for upper-class sinners, as a pet. 

It took a while, but the pig grew on him. And it did help. 

He sits back down in bed, contemplating whether or not he might consider digging through his room for reading materials. Or, see if he could locate a stash. Could hardly hurt at this point. Except maybe to actually give Charlie a real reason to kick him out that is.

Choices, he thinks, as though there was really any choice about it. He liked it here, hardly wanted to come crawling back to Val. 

That is when he heard a knock at his door. Followed by a gratingly cheery voice. "Knock, knock. Is anyone home?" Followed by a familiar chorus of laughter. Of course. _Smiles_. 

He knocked again when Angel didn't answer. Then he heard what he thought was the clanking of keys. Oh, that was right. Al had keys. A part of him heavily considered just letting the radio demon walk right in and figure out he wasn’t wearing any clothing. Alastor had walked in on him more than a few times, and Angel would never get tired of the reaction. Charlie would of course make him apologize though. And something about apologizing to the radio demon was just embarrassing. 

"What do you want!?" He asks just as Al gets a key into the lock, barely is able to bring up the energy to respond. His voice grated against his sore throat like wet sand. It hurt, and his glass of water was empty now. Ugh. 

Instead of screwing right off like he hoped he would, he heard a laugh. He could picture the shark-toothed grin on his face now. 

"Me? I don't want anything! Charlie was the one who asked that someone check on you and invite you down for game night! It's going to be quite competitive, I for one would not want to miss out on the _entertainment.”_ There was the sound of feedback as he spoke as if it were through a radio rather than the door. 

So that was why he was here. Alastor wanted a laugh. Probably heard of what Angel did the other night and wanted to see Angel after he’d drank for the first time in a few weeks. Al gave a friendly enough impression, but he and everyone else knew full well he thrived watching others fail, it's why he was here sponsoring the place and participating. 

And that’s exactly what Angel did last night, he failed.

Angel got up then, fishing clothing out of a drawer. He was not going to give Smiles the pleasure of seeing the nervous wreck he was. Some of his dignity and reputation had to be kept. “I’ll be down there in a minute!” 

“See you there, my effeminate friend!”

Friend? That was a load of bullshit if he'd ever heard it. 

He slipped on his clothing, going back into the bathroom to look himself over. Most of his fur seemed clean by this point if a little wet still. His eyeliner was all over his face, staining the fur under his eyes in dark streaks, while his eyeshadow also managed to smudge all over the top half of his face. It was pretty obvious he’d slept in this. Yeah, no way. The look had to go. He got to work, grabbing a makeup wipe and harshly rubbing at his face until it hurt. With the old makeup taken care of, he put it back on. Hot pink eyeliner stood out against his newly applied eyeshadow and his spots. He looked himself over again, deciding he looked pretty damn nice.

Nobody noticed him come in, engrossed in the game. It seemed to be a game of uno instead of the usual game of monopoly or clue. It was getting pretty competitive, namely between Husk and Alastor. Husk, grumbling something about cheating as Alastor placed a take 4 card down onto the pile. Charlie was nervously glancing between Husker and Nifty who she sat next to before looking down at her own cards. She seemed to have a pile of her own of them. How she was so bad at uno was beyond him. Nifty was looking down at her own cards and cackling- which was a bad sign for Smiles. 

Vaggie however was sitting on the couch, on her phone but occasionally looking up from it to spectate the game. Angel reluctantly took a seat next to her. "Hey."

She looked up. "Hey, we decided to play some card games while we waited for you." She glanced over to her girlfriend. "It was Charlie's idea."

They were waiting for him? Why? "...what if I never came down?"

Vaggie snorted. "Are you kidding me? They'd be at it for hours before they realized."

"Yeah." He snorted. She wasn't wrong. "They would be."

"Hey, I didn't mean to-" she stopped mid-sentence, looking him up and down. "How about we go to the kitchen and… Have a talk?" What she said sounded rehearsed as if Charlie had gone over it with her. Wouldn't be the first time Charlie scripted something. She'd had him rehearsing how to apologize to Husk or Alastor a few times before. Never bothered when it came to Nifty. Nifty took an apology _with_ an apology. 

"Sure…" He says. She didn't look mad or anything, just really concerned. It made Angel nauseous. Why wasn't she mad at him?

They enter the kitchen where Charlie's little imp buddies seemed to be tidying up. Apparently Razzle and Dazzle were her guards, but they were more like guests here who liked to follow Charlie in public. Otherwise, they could usually be found around the hotel. Eating, playing, and sometimes pulling pranks. The only times he really interacted with them was when they were pulling pranks and wanted some help.

Right now they seemed to be lounging and snacking. 

“Hiya,” he waved to them. They bleat back, one grabbing a donut from the box and pointing it at Angel.

“Uh, for me?”

It nods.

"That's real sweet of ya," he takes the donut. It's covered in sprinkles that fall into the floor. Not his problem. He takes a bite, realizing that is beyond stale. "Thanks." He says anyway. 

They both nod to him, getting down from the counter with their box unanimously and without any sorta word. It was creepy. Then they left. 

"I think they like you," Vaggie says, reaching into a cabinet. 

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. They don't interact with most people like that… When they do, you know." She shrugs. 

"Someone's underwear gets wet?"

A few cups clatter to the floor. Thankfully plastic. He snickers. 

"Would it kill you to not do that?!" Ever since day one, she never seemed to like his dirty jokes. That hardly stopped him from cracking them. It was just too funny.

"Do what?" He begins to pick up the cups, plenty of arm room to do it with, so why not? 

Vaggie rolls her eyes, the platter she was looking for in her hands. She sets it down on the counter and begins rifling through the fridge. "Can you grab the crackers?"

He sets the cups back and does that, setting the crackers by the platter. 

"Hey Vaggie?" Angel took a seat on the counter, looking down at his boots. "So about last night...I'm sorry." This was going to be the only chance he got to apologize and he'd be stupid not to take it. Even if Angel didn't like doing this. Apologizing and sharing feelings, left him feeling exposed. 

"I should be apologizing. You clearly had a real shitty day and I wasn't helping. I heard about what happened…"

"I shouldn't have snapped at you, though… I really didn't mean to piss you off."

She shook her head. "You used to do anything to piss me off."

"That's because you were trying to get me to quit taking drugs and drinking. _I_ was pissed off."

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "We're still trying to get you rehabilitated." 

"Whatever."

"Speaking of… Charlie had an idea she wanted to bring up with you." 

"Yeah, she told me that last night. Didn't tell me what though."

She bites her lip as though in thought. "On second thought, we can talk about this later."

"Oh, c'mon! The suspense is killing me." Angel makes a show of groaning, though a smile plays on his lips. 

"You'll just have to wait."

They go back to the lobby, seeing that the game of uno is already wrapped up, the cards scattered all over the floor. Husk and Alastor appear to be arguing as Nifty picks them up, giggling at whatever it is Alastor says before Husk grumbles at him.

Mimzy laughs herself. "Alastor, haven't you aggravated the man enough? Let him be."

"Oh, but where would the fun in that be, my dear?"

"The fun would be that we could sit down and play a game without you cheating and ruining it!" Husker retorts, the argument starting up again. 

Crymini looks up at Angel from her spot beside Husk- who was apparently her great grandfather. It was weird, on the account that they looked nothing alike. Crymini looked like a dog and the guy who apparently shared her last name was a cat with wings. But Angel had heard that hyenas have more similarities to cats than to dogs, so maybe it had something to do with that. She looks annoyed, but she waves to him over anyways before looking back down on her phone. He grins, plopping down onto the leg of the couch. "Hey, kiddo. What's up?"

She looks up again, rolling her eyes. "I'm not a kid."

Angel snickers. "And I'm not gay."

"Better tell your parents the good news."

For a moment Angel nearly forgets that it was an open story that he had grown up catholic. He had talked about it before. Being openly trans and gay was not easy back in the day. So he just wasn't, not until his father had told him to leave and had his men coming after him for a good, long time. At least a few years. Possibly the decade; all because of how he was. They didn't know that part of the story though. What he did tell them was that it was a little hard being on the streets as a gay trans man. His family had kicked him out. He'd turned to sex work, and got hooked on different drugs. Some of this time was blurry, so he never really said much else about it. 

Still, she knew his family never approved. No reason to have a heart attack. 

"Ha… Funny one." He looks around, looking for a change of topic. "...sooo, where's shark boy?"

"In his lab. Said he was making some kind of breakthrough."

"Oh?"

"Why don't you go bug him about it?"

Ordinarily, Angel might have ditched game night to go do that, but seeing as Charlie was sitting across from him hanging over the table that'd been dragged between the two couches and the dragged in chairs- and look at her, she was grinning and waving at him even though they were _this_ close. 

Some other time.

"Know what we're playing tonight?" He asks. 

"Clue." Crymini answers. 

"...never heard of it."

"It's this kinda murder mystery thingy someone recreated. You try and figure out who the killer is or something…" She said. 

That sounded kinda fun. Angel never had the attention span for games like this, but maybe he wouldn't actually get so bored out of his mind this time. 

They picked their characters and had their clues passed out. 

Husk picked Mr. Green without so much as looking, Nifty picked Professor Plum "because it sounds so cool!!" While Mimzy picked Miss Peacock. This left Charlie with Mrs. White and Vaggie with Colonel Mustard. Angel picked out Miss Scarlet. Predictable, but eh. Who really cared? 

This was where they ran into their first problem. 

"Uh, Charlie?" Nifty gently tugged at her shirt sleeve, getting Charlie's attention. 

"Yes, Nifty?"

"I don't think Alastor or Crymini have characters."

"Oh…" she looks around. For a moment Angel hopes that maybe Alastor might volunteer to drop out of the game, but-

"I didn't want to play anyways," Crymini gets up from her spot. "I need to work on my resume, all that, soo… Night gramps."

Husk grumbles a goodnight back, while Nifty and Mimzy give more enthusiastic goodnights. Charlie wishes her good luck, and Vaggie does the same at the jabbing of her girlfriend's elbow. 

"Okay then… Still leaves one extra player…" Charlie trails off. 

C'mon Al. Drop the game. Go. 

"Oh, I have an idea!" Angel nearly facepalms as Charlie grabs a card from the uno deck, taking a sharpie out of seemingly nowhere and scribbling something on it. She hands it to Alastor.

He reads it, expression untelling as ever, his smile doesn't change. "Mr… Tux Bucks?" He chuckles. "What a… Charming little man." 

And he takes a seat, waiting for Charlie to pass everything else out. Goddamnit. Angel tried not to pout or do anything to indicate that he really wanted Alastor to leave. It was pretty unlikely Alastor would even look at him unless he had a reason to, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get a kick out of his discomfort. 

And this is when they run into their next problem. The number of cards and tokens. It's at this point Charlie throws out the rule book, literally. It falls to the front door in a heap. Vaggie facepalms as Charlie begins handing everything out until nothing is left. Everybody ended up with a suspect token and something to write on. He'd give her that much, and not much else. This was about to be a disaster. At least it would be over soon. 

He's just about to go and try opting out of the game completely when Vaggie shoots him a look. One that said 'my girlfriend set this up, and you aren't about to leave now', and here he thought they were friends. Leaning back against the couch, there's little he can do to keep from groaning. Don't give the radio demon something to react to, _don't give the radio demon something to react_ -

"If we're ready, we can start playing now. Um," Charlie laughs sheepishly. "Vaggie, can you grab me that manual, I need it to explain the rules."

"Sure thing, hun." She grabs it from the floor, handing it over and rolling her eyes with an affectionately annoyed smile as Charlie tries to bend back the damaged pages. 

"Welp, take it away, toots." The responding laugh track makes Angel want to pull his hair out. 

Charlie begins to explain the rules as they go. Of course, a lot of it flew over Angel's head seeing as the game was already disregarding more than a few of the rules. But he gets the gist of it. Some guy got murdered, and the objective of the game was to figure out who in the group of players did it. Angel looked down at his things as the game actually started. 

Oh, would you look at that. _Angel_ was the killer. That would be fun. Looking back, he had no idea how wrong he would turn out to be. 

The first thing that went wrong was Mizmy. She was fun, and fun to hang out with. The only problem was that she was as stuck in the past as Alastor was, even ran a club themed after the time period she died in. Though that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was that she was a stubborn grandma of a person. Old, self-righteous, and just clever enough to get away with it. If she thought she was right, she was right and that was how it was. Right now was one of those times. 

"It _is_ my turn. I go after Alastor does." 

"Then how come it wasn't like that last time?" He was pointing a claw at Mimzy, who simply eyed him back, unrelentless in her assertion that it was her turn. Truth be told, Angel had no idea whose turn it was. He got distracted after his. 

"Husker, darling, I have no idea what you're talking about." She asserts again. Husk hisses. 

Vaggie groaned, rubbing her temple. "One of you just take your turn."

"I thought it was my turn," Nifty said. 

If it was an attempt to further stir the pot, it fucking worked. The room erupts into an overwhelming argumentative chatter. Angel fidgets with his game piece. 

And then he holds still, eyes glued to the board as he watched Alastor quietly taking a second turn. Rolling the dice and moving his little slip of paper character into another room. He says nothing and makes no suggestions or accusations. Angel just stares.

Alastor looks right at him, an unreadable look again on his face. Different this time, but equally as unreadable. Almost melancholy for just a moment before he raises his finger to his lip to motion Angel to stay quiet. Angel blinks. "No, Al. I'm not letting you cheat."

The room goes quiet and tense. All eyes are on Alastor, who seems to delight in the attention as he grins. At first, no one says anything, too nervous to call out the powerful demon on cheating. 

"Al…" Charlie looks at him in disappointment, as if she expected better. It was the look that Angel had seen get plenty of demons to come to her with their tails tucked between their legs with an apology, whether it be due to guilt or fear of the _honest to god princess of hell_. Not Alastor though. He had absolutely no reservations with acting however he damn well pleased around this joint. 

Not to imply he didn't listen to her when it seemed to suit him or happen to not inconvenience whatever he wanted. So he put the game piece back where it had been. 

"I believe it had been Nifty's turn." He said, handing her the dice, which she look with an excited squeal. Nifty threw the dice… 

Onto the board, knocking just about almost everyone's pieces over. 

"Oops…" She laughed nervously. 

"Oh! It's okay, Nifty. We will get this all picked up and-" Charlie manages to knock over the whole board while scrambling for the pieces that had fallen to the floor. "Haha...fuck." She looks around at the floor. "Think we can still salvage this, guys?"

Nifty nodded enthusiastically. This was not a sentiment shared by anyone else, unfortunately. Mimzy and Husk still appeared to be locked in a hushed argument. Alastor just looked happy to be part of this disaster. The hangover that Angel had just started to diminish a little bit, and what seemed to be a fun idea twenty minutes ago was a huge bore. Angel never could stand board games. 

"C'mon, guys…" Charlie pleaded.

Vaggie nudges Charlie, giving her girlfriend that familiar, tired look. "Hon, I don't think we have their attention anymore."

Charlie sighs. "Fine. Who wants to help pick up?"

Nifty quickly volunteered as Mimzy and Husk continued to argue. Alastor got up, gave Angel another weird look, and then left towards the kitchen. No doubt to work on dinner, like he usually did. It was hard not to find that impressive that he did it almost every night, even when he wasn't staying here at the hotel.

Angel absent-mindedly snacked on what was left out, not particularly feeling like moving at this point. He hadn't eaten all day anyway and didn't really want to give anyone reason to worry if he passed out. Though he was also probably dehydrated, and he wanted a smoke. 

There were these uninhabited rooms upstairs that had balconies. He liked to go to one for a night smoke sometimes. To clear his head, be completely alone with himself for a minute. This was also the place where he relapsed once. Technically he wasn't supposed to come up here anymore without supervision, like some sorta little kid. 

That was where he was now. He takes a drag of the cigarette, the sensation of smoke filling his lungs was welcoming. These things disgusted him once. He was proud not to smoke because he didn't like the smell, like the good catholic girl he was. Still didn't, even after he first started. He would try drowning out the odor in perfumes and colognes. Once he took a dip in a river trying to get it out. The memory was only so fresh in his head because it had been the same time someone had jacked the car he had been sleeping in barely a week before. He could still remember shivering and shaking as he walked all the way back to his motel room. Angel still reeked when he got there. He reeked now. He'd barely washed off his day at work. 

The repulsion was visceral. All Angel wanted to do at that moment was shed off his skin. A molt would be great right about now. He was so disgusting. 

He's pulled out of this train of thought by the door creaking open. He drops his cigarette in surprise as he turns to watch Husk coming in.

"What the fuck?!" Husk's fur raised up in surprise. "Don't do that?"

"Do what?" Angel felt like a dork as he waggled his eyebrows. It wasn't a trick that worked on most people. And Husk wasn't most people. 

"Just step aside." Husk rolled his eyes.

...Husk was also hard to impress. The only time he'd been able to get any sort of reaction out of him that wasn't grumbling or begrudging conversation was the time Angel had pulled a card trick. Or more accurately, tried and failed to. It had gotten a laugh out of the tough guy. Angel had long since given up on trying to get into his bed, but he still liked him.

Angel scootches over to give him room to sit, which Husk takes. 

Angel stares. And finds himself staring some more. Long and hard. 

"What?" 

"No drink?" 

"No drink." Husk confirmed.

"...shit. You alright?" Something was up.

"Just fucking fine."

"Uh… Huh…" Angel continued to gawk at him, for the first time today noticing that the guy was sickly sober. No wonder he seemed about ready to claw Smile's face off.

Husk picks up Angel's cigarette from the ground. It was still lit, so he started smoking it, turning away to exhale. 

“Hey! Get your own!!” 

"You aren't smoking it."

That was because Angel had dropped it. "....eh, that's fair." He says anyways. He could let it go, whatever. Husk wasn't wrong. But his skin still itched so when given the opening he reached right back for the cigarette and started smoking it again. 

Husk doesn't say anything when Angel hands it back. They alternate like this for a few minutes in shared contemplative silence until the cigarette is reduced to the butt that Angel puts out on the ground. He's surprised when Husk then hands him a new one, lit already. 

"Soooo," Angel finally breaks the silence as he accepts the offered nicotine death stick. "Are you going sober?"

"...no, just thought I could drink a little less, but that's none of your business."

"Easy, tiger. I was just curious. I haven't seen you like this a whole lot you know."

"Yeah. I know." Another few moments of silence. "My head is fucking killing me. Everything's loud and- just everywhere… Nothing takes my mind off it long enough.."

"...You didn't quit cold turkey did you?"

Husk grumbles incoherently under his breath. 

"Didn't hear that."

"I've been trying for months."

"Join the club." Angel puts out his second cigarette. "Got another?"

"Take it." Angel tries not to dwell on the fact that the one he hands him next was the one Husk had been using. They already shared one, what was another?

"Eventually you start thinking about it less," Angel said.

"Huh?" Husk responds. Zoning out deep in thought like that was a new one coming from him. It… Was different. Don't get Angel wrong, he liked a grouchy Husk any day of the week but he didn't exactly hate a thoughtful one. 

"Like… It gets easier is what I'm saying," he continued. "It won't be like that forever."

More silence as Angel finishes off what he assumes to be the last cigarette. 

"Any more helpful advice I should know about?"

"Yeah, actually. It's a lot easier to handle it if you take away the temptation."

Husk facepalmed, claws running down his face as his face twisted in an expression of aggravation. "But I work the bar."

"Maybe you could… I dunno. Take a vacation. Hotels right here."

"Are you fucking crazy? Sure, I could take some time off- if I wanted to start an angry mob!" Husk cups his head as if his own voice was grating on his nerves. Poor kitty. 

Angel cautiously pats his shoulder. When he gets no negative reaction, he holds it there in a way he hopes is supportive. If this were someone else he might have pulled him into his lap, but for all the time he spent trying to talk to the bartender, they were hardly close enough for that. "I'm sure Charlie and Smiles could find somebody else." His tone of voice briefly reminds him of his mom, even though he long since stopped sounding like her. It reminded him of the only downside to hell placing him in the right body: he couldn't pretend to be mom when life was tough. He could do a close approximation though, and that was probably what the weird look was for. 

"...I guess." Husk didn't look too sure about it still. Lost, more like it. Seeing Husk like this made Angel's skin crawl. It was just too familiar, too close to home. 

Angel started to gently rub his back. It's what his mom would have done. Husk relaxed a little. Angel does nothing else for a few moments, not wanting to push boundaries. Getting his hands clawed off because he got a little handsy was not his idea of a good time, not in this context. 

"And you would be dealing with less assholes on a day to day basis. I call that a win."

"Yeah…" Husk tensed again, turning to stare at the moon as if it might implode and end this conversation if he stared long and hard enough. 

Angel removed his hand from Husk's back, giving him a soft, awkward pat. 

"So, uh. What are you doing up here anyway?" It couldn't be a coincidence that out of any place to have a smoke, he picked this particular balcony. It was the last room down a hallway, not the ideal first choice. 

Husk's tail flopped back and forth as he gritted his teeth. "None of your business."

"Just curious." Angel gets up. "Well, see ya around…"

Husk is quiet as he leaves. Whatever. He probably needed some time to himself, maybe an aspirin.

Angel returns to his room, and for once he follows his own advice and begins to collect up his stashes, from when he had been attempting to slowly wean himself off of needing to take some of them. He gives them to Charlie, and tries to ignore how her happy go lucky visage cracks. He doesn't tell her that he's pretty sure he has more somewhere in the room, but that he couldn't find it, or that getting more would be as easy as finding a vending machine. It went unsaid, as most things did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating a little late, sorry about that. A lot has been going on lately, I don't think I need to explain much more than that. I hope to write ahead once I start to feel better again so I can continue updating weekly. I've been basically writing as I go and recently came up with a plot outline I'm already diverging from, so expect quicker and better thought over updates.
> 
> Also, I uh inserted characters who haven't shown up in the show yet. Yep. And Husk is Crymini's grandpa. I cannot be stopped from doing whatever I want. I am honestly drunk with power when it comes to this fic. I'm surprised I've gotten as much positive reception about this fic as I have. I hope you all aren't expecting a normal story. If you know me at all you're aware I thrive off crack headcanons addressed seriously. My angst pit wip is no exception.


End file.
